Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Donates 100,000 Sandwiches to First Responders

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit donated 100,000 free sandwiches to people on the Coronavirus frontlines last week. The Dallas-based barbecue franchise gave the sandwiches to grocery store employees, first responders, and medical workers in Arizona.

Roughly 20 Phoenix-area locations partnered to make the donation. The effort was a way for the brand to thank hundreds of local essential businesses and personnel. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit made donations to pharmacies, independent doctors’ offices, and grocery chains like Costco and Kroger.

“Although these are difficult times, we believe it’s important to support our local communities and give back to the front line,” said Laura Rea Dickey CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. “At Dickey’s, we are proud to serve the countless first responders who are working tirelessly to keep us all safe and healthy.”

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit’s charitable arm, the Dickey Foundation, supports first responders throughout the US. The foundation provides safety equipment and overall support for local first responders.

The Impact Of COVID-19

COVID-19 started in Wuhan China with the first major outbreak on Chinese New Year on January 28th. From there, the coronavirus migrated and breached China’s borders within weeks of containment. Failure to respond in time resulted in the pandemic occurring now that’s affected most of the world.

The United States recorded its first case of the coronavirus on March 3rd. It only took a month for the virus to sweep across the country and cause widespread panic and fear. Small businesses that aren’t considered essentials have been closed. And at the moment only a handful of essential businesses, groceries, and postal services remain open.

Unemployment has also reached a record high in the United States. Over 9.95 million people in the country have filed for unemployment as of April 2nd, 2020 since the outbreak. All of this occurred within a 30-day window making this event a historical moment.

Impact On First Responders

With rising cases of COVID-19, first responders are exposing themselves by usually being the first medical staff on the scene. Often times, they have no choice but to get close and personal with the patient in order to provide urgent care before reaching the emergency room. First responders put themselves in harm’s way in order to be there for us. Many organizations are starting to recognize their contribution and have put forth efforts to assist these essential frontline heroes.

Dickney’s Barbecue Pit donating 100,000 sandwiches to First responders sets a great example of how we can help one another.

Another great organization that’s also supporting First responders is Dutch Bros Coffee. Dutch Coffee Bros, with operations in seven states, promises to give 100% of their profit for the month of April to #FirstRespondersFirst, a non-profit organization that’s helping provide equipment and PPE to first responders, health workers, and patients.

For all your franchise industry news visit FranchiseHOW.